In Front of the College one shot
by Yesterday's Tonic
Summary: The twice rejected Goblin King returns to cajole 'his' Sarah into returning. It turns out to be an interesting encounter, since she isn't the young girl he first had run on his merry little chase. M for language


In front of the college, a dark green car parked and a young woman got out of the driver's seat. She grinned as she looked up, practically shivering with glee that her hard work had paid off and she was finally here. She'd won the full scholarship and her first semester was about to start. With a giddy bounce in her step, she opened the back seat to start pulling out her bags as a car pulled up behind her, bringing her father, mother, Toby and the new baby, all to help her move in.

From a tree branch, an owl watched the family move Sarah Williams' belongings to her dorm, laughing and talking as they did so. He'd waited, biding his time for her to leave their home to a place where he was free to interrupt her daily life and enjoy himself while he did it. If Sarah thought she had seen the last of the Goblin King when she had left the Labyrinth with her baby brother, she was sorely mistaken. He may not have had power over her, but a besotted Fae was something to be reckoned with, power or not.

He waited until evening, when they exchanged hugs and her parents and siblings drove away, Toby screaming and crying in protest. Mentally, he was smirking a little. His obstinate little labyrinth runner had certainly grown attached to the half pint, as he observed her watching them go with a rather lonely wave. How close she seemed to be to her family now, emotionally, was of no consequence to him. She was no match for him.

Sarah sighed as the car disappeared from sight, turning to walk back inside with her hands stuffed in her pockets. Even in the warm August evening, she felt the cold prickle on the back of her neck and shrugged her shoulders, as if to get rid of a chill. Not knowing what kind of rowdy antics college boys got up to in the evenings, she decided it was a good idea to head back to the girl's dorm.

"Sarah."

It was soft, so barely audible that she wasn't sure she'd actually heard it, but the unmistakable voice with the foreign lilt sent spikes of fear down her spine. "You have no power over me," she repeated, not daring to turn around and see if he was really behind her.

"So you've said before." This time it was directly at her ear, causing her to jump and whirl around, coming face to face with the one thing she'd desperately hoped had been a bad dream.

"Oh my _god_," she said, unable to keep the disgusted tone out of her voice. "Who wears _mullets_ anymore?" He blinked at her in surprise, then burst out into laughter at her impudence. "What?" she sniffed. "It's the nineties. Either cut your hair or grow it out, one or the other." Waving him off, she turned to walk back inside. "Good bye."

Abruptly, the laughter ended and the smirking, smug bastard was leaning in the doorway to block her entrance. "Come back to the Labyrinth with me, Sarah," he said, as if it were the most casual statement he'd ever made in his life.

Sarah glared. "Not on your life," she said. "Get out of my way, Goblin King."

"Oh come now, precious," he said, leaning towards her. "For you, I'll allow you to call me Jareth."

"Get out of my way, _Goblin_ _King_," she repeated.

"Oh, Sarah Sarah," he tsked. "Though I must admit that you calling me King has a certain… vibe to it."

Was he insinuating-? She drew up her full height (which wasn't very significant in the face of his) and glared. "It's not a pet name. Now what do you want?"

"I want you to come back to the Labyrinth."

"I got that part," she said dryly. "_Why_?"

"Why do you have to ask?" his eyes dark as he loomed over her. "Do I have to waltz you around and sing my undying love to you a second time or are you so obstinate that my words just bounced right off your thick skull?"

Her eyes widened and she flushed, looking away. "Ugh! As if you meant any of that, it was all tripe to get me to forget Toby."

"Was it?" he lilted. "Why else, then, did I give you the power to wish?"

She refused to even contemplate that the play might be real. "You," she pointed a finger at him, "Get out of my sight with your psycho hair, sparkly clothing and… ugh… those _pants_." She rubbed the point between her eyes, blushing again. She'd barely noticed as a girl, but as a woman, it was entirely different. And far more embarrassing (possibly morbidly fascinating too, not that she would ever admit it).

Jareth grinned, knowing what she was blushing about. "The Labyrinth wasn't all bad…" he cajoled, the darkness gone from his presence as he said into her ear. "Your friends are there. It's full of magic, beauty and wonder…"

"That poufy dress _was_ nice," she admitted begrudgingly.

"I liked it on you," he agreed wholeheartedly, adding with a mischievous grin, "I liked putting it on you even more."

It took a moment for her to get her brain to work with his closeness, the way he smelled of sparking magic and hot spices, to understand what he'd just said. Then she turned bright red and wheeled backwards, striking him with all her force. A few minutes later, even the Goblin King himself was running scared as an infuriated Sarah Williams chased with nothing other than with a chair in her hands.

"Sarah, precious, let's talk about this!"

"Get BACK here and let me KILL YOU!" she screamed.

"Only if you come to the Labyrinth!"

"DIE you sick son of a bitch!"


End file.
